Potters wheel heads

ABSTRACT

A device for attachment to a potters wheel head, having a flange to grip and hold it on the wheel. The device has a recess in its upper surface to receive a tile, a chuck, or an adapter for an asbestos disc.

United States Patent 1 1 11 1 3,849,054 Jordache Nov. 19, 1974 POTTERSWHEEL HEADS 406,350 7/1889 Jackson 425/459 17 Inventor: Rm 199991942Laurier 131323 3/383 Elffiiiiiiij: 1111111111111 1527322 London England1.377.785 5/1921 Odelberg 425/459 [22] Filed: Dec. 29, 1972 [21] Appl.No.: 319,875 Primary Examiner-C. W. Lanham Assistant Examiner-Victor A.Di Palma [30] Foreign Application Priority Data ittlrgrzleiy, Agent, orFtrm-Roylance, Abrams, Berdo June 1, 1972 Great Britain 25640/72 June i,1972 Great Britain 25642/72 [52] US. Cl. 425/459, 425/266 [57] ABSTRACT[51] Int. Cl B28b 1/29 Field of Search A device for attachment to apotters wheel head, hav- 425/266, 267, 263 ing a flange to grip and holdit on the wheel. The device has a recess in its upper surface to receivea tile, [56] References Cited a chuck, or an adapter for an asbestosdisc.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 337,632 3/1886 Sheldon 1. 425/459 15 Claims, 6Drawing; Figures This invention relates to potters wheels and is moreparticularly concerned with a device for attachment to such a wheelhead.

A device for attachment to a potters wheel head according to thepresentinvention comprises means for connecting it to the wheel head to revolvetherewith and means on its upper surface to receive a member adapted tobe interposed between it and the clay to be thrown.

In one preferred arrangement the device is provided with an opening inits upper surface to receive and grip the member. The clay may bereceived direct on the member. In one arrangement a member may be atile.

The device is preferably formed of a flexible resilient material such asplastics material or rubber. The means for connecting it to the wheelhead may comprise a peripheral beaded flange descending from its lowersurface adapted to grip the periphery of the wheel head.

The opening may bethe same plan shape as the member and may be retainedtherein by having its walls angled slightly inwardly. Thus with theflexible resilient material the member can be easily slipped into placeand will be gripped by the walls. Thus in the case of a tile the openingmay be square in plan.

In an alternative arrangement the member may be in the form ofa chuck,which may also be formed of flexible resilient material and the devicemay be provided with an opening to receive the base of the chuck ln thiscase the opening may be in the form of an annular socket to receive anannular flange on the base of the chuck. Preferably the chuck includessuction means for retaining the chuck from upward movement during use.

The annular socket may be formed in the device concentrically with thesquare recess and below it with a shoulder in the square recess toreceive the base of the tile. With this arrangement it is thereforepossible to use either the chuck or a tile with the device.

Preferably also the device has an annular shoulder around its peripheryadapted to receive and retain an annular ring. With this arrangement apotter can use a plaster or wooden disc which can be fitted within thering.

In an alternative arrangement the member may be adapted to receive andretain an asbestos disc upon which clay is thrown. In this case themember may be square in plan and provided with means for retaining thedisc. The member may have an opening in its centre to receive a wab ofclay to provide adhesion of the disc to the bat.

Preferably also a cut out with an undercut is provided to assist in theremoval of the member.

The invention may be performed in various ways and one specificembodiment together with modifications thereto will now be described byway of example with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a device (referred to in thisdescription as a bat) according to the present invention,

FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-section through the bat,

FIG. 3 is a similar view to FIG. 2 showing a tile in position in thebat,

FIG. 4 is a similar view to FIG. 3 showing an asbestos disc mounted onthe bat by means of an adapter,

FIG. 5 is a similar view to FIG. 4 showing a chuck in position on thebat, and,

FIG.6 is a similar view to FIG. 5 of a modified arrangement showing aring in which is received a plaster disc.

The bat shown in FIG. land 2 comprises a generally disc shaped structureor 'main body indicated at l the lower surface 2 of which is flat and isadapted to engage the flat top of a wheel head. Extending downwardlyfrom the lower surface 2 is a peripheral gripping flange 3 which has itsinner periphery slightly angled inwardly e.g., of the order of 1 to 3with respect to the surface 2 in order to grip the rim of the potterswheel. The end of the flange 3 has a peripheral bead 4 which acts as atensioner to ensure that the flange 3 grips the rim. This arrangementalso enables the same bat to be used with slightly differing sizes ofpotters wheel heads.

Theupper surface of the bat is flat as shown at 5 and has cavity orrecess 6 of square shape the peripheral wall of which as indicated at 7is'also angled inwardly with respect to the base 8 of the recess. Onewall is in 'terrupted by a cut out 10 which undercuts the surface "6 inorder to insert a tool to extract a tile as more fully described below.

The rectangular recess 6 is axially symmectrically po' sitioned andwithin the rectangular recess 6 is an axially disposed annular recess 12extending down from the base 8. The sides of the annular recess are alsoangled as shown at 13.

The'bathas a peripheral shoulder 14 adapted to re ceive a ring 24 shownin FIG. 6 and the purpose of which is described below.

FIG. 3 shows a tile 9, which may be made of any suitable material but ispreferably a biscuit tile inserted into the recess 6. By reason of thedimensions, the inclined surfaces and the resilient nature of the batthis will be retained in position, it being appreciated that the top ofthe recess 6 is marginally smaller than the tile.

In operation a potter inserts a tile into the rectangular recess andthen throws the pot upon it. The tile and the pot are then removed fromthe bat, by the insertion of a suitable lever in the cut out under thetile, and then placed to dry. Once the pot has dried the tile willautomatically separate from it and can be re-used.

An alternative arrangement is shown in FIG. 4 where it is preferred touse an asbestos disc. In this case the tile is replaced by a similarsquare shaped adapter 9A adapted to be retained within the rectangularrecessed opening 6 but the adapter 9A has a central circular opening 34and two diametrally opposed studs 15 on its upper surface. The asbestosdisc is flat, the opening 34 being provided for the insertion of a moistwab of clay to provide adhesion of the asbestos disc to the bat. Thisarrangement is suitable when it is desired to throw pots with a baselarger than the tile surface. The adapter may be made of cast aluminum,and the disc can be any required size.

Another arrangement is shown in FIG. 5. In this arrangement a chuck ofsuitable rubber or synthetic material is used in place of the tile orasbestos disc and this is used to turn a pot. The chuck comprises a cupshaped member 20 having an outwardly flared surface 21 within which apotter places the pot to be turned. The chuck has a lower surfaceindicated at 22 which is angled slightly downwardly before being placedin positron.

The lower surface is arranged in this way so that when it is placed inposition the lower surface moves to lie flat against the upper surfaceof the bat to provide a suctionto retain the chuck from upward movementduring use. The suction can be released by the insertion of a usersfinger into the centre recess in the lower surface and releases thechuck from the bat. Extending downwardly from the lower surface 22 is adownwardly directed annular flange 23 the sides of which are inclined ata similar angle to the angle l3 which is adapted to be received andretained in the annular groove 12. As the annular ring is made to betight fit in the recess 12 the chuck is automatically centred and readyto accommodate a largevariety and shapes of pottery, for example,plates, bottles, dishes, tea pots and large bowls. The rubber of thechuck grips the clay.

In a further modified arrangement where it is desired to use a plasterdisc on which the pot is to be thrown an aluminium ring 24 is receivedin the peripheral shoulder 14. The ring is a tight fit on the shoulder,and is retained by reason of the interengaging angles so that the lowerpart of the ring nests under the upper surface of the bat. A user thenplaces a previously cast plaster disc or a shaped piece of wood as shownat 25 into the recess so formed then throws the pot on to it. Aperipheral slot 26 is arranged between the disc or piece of wood 25 andthe ring 24 to enable a tool to be inserted to removed the disc or pieceof wood.

I claim:

l. A device for attachment to a rotatable potters wheel head comprising:

a main body having an upper and lower surface;

means, carried by said body, for connecting said body to the wheel headso that said body rotates with the wheel head; and

means, located adjacent the upper surface of said body, for receiving amember adapted to be interposed between said body and the clay to bemodelled and for coupling the member to said body for rotationtherewith,

said means for connecting comprising an annular,

beaded, flexible flange descending from said body lower surface andadapted to grip the periphery of the wheel head.

2. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for receiving andcoupling includes a recess formed in the upper surface of said body toreceive and grip the member.

3. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the clay is received directlyon the member.

4. A device as claimed in claim 3 in which the member comprises a tile.

5. A device as claimed in claim 2 in which said recess is the same sizeas the member.

6. A device as claimed in claim 5 in which said recess is square in planview.

7. A device as claimed in claim 2 in which the member comprises a chuck.

8. A device as claimed in claim 7 wherein said recess receives the baseof the chuck.

9. A device as claimed in claim 8 wherein said means for receiving andcoupling further includes an annular socket located in said body belowsaid recess to receive an annular flange on the base of the chuck.

10. A device as claimed in claim Sin which the chuck includes suctionmeans for restraining the chuck from upward movement during use.

11. A device as claimed in claim 6 in which an annular socket is formedconcentrically with said square recess in said body.

12. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said body is disc shaped andincludes an annular shoulder around the periphery of said body adaptedto receive and retain an annular ring.

13. A device as claimed in claim 1 in which the member has means forreceiving and retaining an asbestos disc upon which clay is thrown.

14. A device as claimed in, claim 13 in which the member is square.

15. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said body includes a cut outadjacent the upper surface and one edge of said recess for assisting inthe removal of the

1. A device for attachment to a rotatable potters wheel head comprising:a main body having an upper and lower surface; means, carried by saidbody, for connecting said body to the wheel head so that said bodyrotates with the wheel head; and means, located adjacent the uppersurface of said body, for receiving a member adapted to be interposedbetween said body and the clay to be modelled and for coupling themember to said body for rotation therewith, said means for connectingcomprising an annular, beaded, flexible flange descending from said bodylower surface and adapted to grip the periphery of the wheel head.
 2. Adevice as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for receiving andcoupling includes a recess formed in the upper surface of said body toreceive and grip the member.
 3. A device as claimed in claim 1 in whichthe clay is received directly on the member.
 4. A device as claimed inclaim 3 in which the member comprises a tile.
 5. A device as claimed inclaim 2 in which said recess is the same size as the member.
 6. A deviceas claimed in claim 5 in which said recess is square in plan view.
 7. Adevice as claimed in claim 2 in which the member comprises a chuck.
 8. Adevice as claimed in claim 7 wherein said recess receives the base ofthe chuck.
 9. A device as claimed in claim 8 wherein said means forreceiving and coupling further includes an annular socket located insaid body below said recess to receive an annular flange on the base ofthe chuck.
 10. A device as claimed in claim 8 in which the chuckincludes suction means for restraining the chuck from upward movementduring use.
 11. A device as claimed in claim 6 in which an annularsocket is formed concentrically with said square recess in said body.12. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said body is disc shaped andincludes an annular shoulder around the periphery of said body adaptedto receive and retain an annular ring.
 13. A device as claimed in claim1 in which the member has means for receiving and retaining an asbestosdisc upon which clay is thrown.
 14. A device as claimed in claim 13 inwhich the member is square.
 15. A device as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid body includes a cut out adjacent the upper surface and one edge ofsaid recess for assisting in the removal of the member.